Register and grille



Feb, 6, 1934. J. A. GERMONPREZ REGISTER AND GRILLE Filed Sept. 50. 19:51 2 Sheets-Shet 1 INVENTVOR Jl H. @e rmoh brez ATTORNEYS Feb. 6, 1934. J GERMQNPREZ 1,945,972

REGISTER AND GRILLE Filed Sept. 30, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 10/? w Ge mum bra 2 ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 6, 1934 I REGISTER AND GRILLE John A. Germonprez, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., assignor to Uni-Flo Grille Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application September 30, 1931 i Serial No. 566,143

13 Claims. (o1. 98-106) This invention relates to a register and'grille construction adapted. more particularly for mounting in an opening in the wall or floor of a room, through which opening heated or ventilating air is forced into the room? One of the primary objects of this invention is to provide av grille construction which will be substantially invisible and which will not therefore forcibly attract the eye of a person entering the room in which the register is mounted.

A further object of this invention is to provide a register and'grille construction by which vision into the stack head or concealed heat cabinet with which the grille is associated will be eliminated.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a register and grille construction which will offer the least possible resistance to the air at low aswell as at high velocities and which will provide for the discharge of the air. in a defused or blanket-likeform.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a structure of the above mentioned character in which all air noises will be eliminated, in'

which a uniform flow of the air will be effected and by which foreign objects will be entirely preventedfrom'entering the stack or heat.cabinet with which the grille is associated.

Numerous other objects and advantages of this invention will become'more apparent as the following description proceeds, particularly when reference is had to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 1

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a register and grille constructed in accordance with the'teachings of this invention;

Fig. 2 is. a sectional view taken substantially on'the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

' Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the elements forming a part of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the grille shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 5- 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing a slightly modified form of construction.

It is, at the present time, quite generally the practice to provide forced air conditioning -or ventilating systems or concealed radiation in buildings. For these systems, register openings are formed in the walls or floors of the rooms and grilles are utilized for partially closing these openings.

Heretofore grilles for this purpose have been constructed on the theory that the main requirement was a maximum of free air opening. As a result, these grilles have been built with face design sections or bars of substantial width and arranged to provide relatively large openings through which the air might pass. The most popular type of grille has been the square mesh grille with three-quarter inch square holes formed by spaced bars, these bars being usually one-quarter of an inch in width.

Grilles of this. character, even though formed to provide pleasing designs, have possessed numerous disadvantages, and it is an object of the present invention to eliminate these disadvan-- tages in a manner which will hereinafter be more this wall being provided with a suitably located opening 11. The reference character 12 designates a stack or housing located within the opening 11, it being understood that this stack may be in communication with a forced air conditioningand ventilating system or a remotely located heating system. Further, the stack 12 might constitute the outlet of a suitable housing in which a radiator is positioned, as is customary practice in modern concealed radiation heating systems. p

According to the teachings of this invention, there is provided a casing 15 arranged to fit snugly within the stack or housing 12 and se-' cured thereto in any desired manner. This casing is bent or otherwise formed adjacent its outer end to provide an inwardly extending flange 16 and an outwardly extending flange 1'7,

the latter flange engaging the outer surface of the wall adjacent the opening therein.

Positioned within the casing 15 is a grille designated generally by the reference character 20.

This grille engages the inner surface of the flange l6 and is held in firm engagement with this flange engagement with the flange 16.

The inner casing 21 constitutes a support for a damper 25, this damper being hingedly mounted in the upper end of the inner casing, as designated by thereference character 26. A coil spring 27 coiled about a pin 28 fixed to the inner casing adjacent the upper end thereof is 'flxed provided throughout its length with spaced balls or protuberances 31. This chain extends at its one end through an opening 32 formed in the damper. Fitted in this opening is a sleeve 33, and-this sleeve is providedwith an enlarged recess 34 to provide a seat for a spring 35. This spring is of conical shape, and the chain passes through this spring and is provided at its end with an enlargement 36 adapted to engage the free end of the spring.

The other end of the chain passes through the grille"20 and through an opening 37 formed in a locking member 38 which is bolted or otherwise secured as at 39 to the flange 1'7 of the outer casing. This locking member is provided with a slot '40 with which the chain maybe engaged, the arrangement being such that when the chain is engaged in the slot the enlargements or balls on the chain prevent longitudinal movement of the chain through the slot and thus hold the damper in adjusted position. The spring 35 provides means for facilitating locking engagement of the chain in the slot when the damper is moved to closed position since this spring will give suficiently to permit movement of the chain to a position where two of the enlargements therein will be arranged on opposite sides of the slot in the locking member.

It will be noted .that the grille is maintained within the outer casing by engagement of the flange of the inner casing with the inner face of the grille adjacent the edge thereof. Thus grilles of different thicknesses may be mounted in the outer casing, the inner casing being properly positioned within the outer casing to effectively hold the grille in position.

It will be noted further that the portion of the grille frame or outer casing which fits into the stack head is entirely smooth so that a perfect seal is effected at this point, thus eliminating the escape of the air around the grille frame. Still further, the flange 24 of the inner casing providesa shelf or fiat surface which snugly engages the free edges of the damper when the latter is moved to closed position. This is an important feature of the construction since it eliminates air noises such, for example, as air whistle which contemplates so constructing the grille 20 as tov eliminate the numerous objections and disadvantages of .the grilles heretofore used. The structure of the grille will first be described, and thenseveral of the advantages of this type of grille will be explained in detail in order that a more complete understanding of the inventive principles embodied in this application may be obtained. r

Referring then particularly to Figs. 2 and 4 to 6, inclusive, of the drawings, it will be noted that Flanges 48 are preferably formed surrounding the slots, and these flanges embrace the adjacent po'rtions of the bars, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. After the bars-and fins have been properly assembled, the .whole unit may be made rigid by sweating the unit in solder.

Both the fins and the bars are so positioned that their narow edges face the front of the grille, and thefins are providedpreferably in both their front and rear edges with the depressions 50. These depressions constitute agitators which break up the air currents into defused currents, with the result that the air is discharged through the grille with a blanket-like flow.

In Fig. 7 a slightly modified form of grilleconstruction is disclosed as comprising thin strips or fins 46', these strips being provided in their edges with the depressions 50'. These strips are bent into a zig-zag formation, as illustrated, and then the abutting portions of these strips, when a number of strips are assembled together, are sweated together. to form a unitary construction of the cellular or honeycomb type. Thus the grille may be formed without the use of the supporting bars and thus be formed entirely of thin strips or fins.

Among the numerous advantages of the construction described above, several will be described in detail. As brought out before, 'a grille construction, when mounted in a room, should be as nearly invisible as it is possible to make the same. With the old type grille in which the cross bars were three-thirty-seconds of an inch or greater in width, the grille was readily visible from any point in the room and in fact, forcibly attracted the attention of persons entering the room. This condition is evidenced by the fact that designers frequently attemptedto improve the appearance of these grilles by curving the cross bars or otherwiseshaping the same into A suitable designs.

With a grille constructed, however, in accordance with the teachings of this invention, the eye passes the grille without any noticeable reaction and without being forcibly attracted to the same. With thefins approximately twenty-thousandths of an inch thick and with these fins spaced apart approximately one-quarter of an inch and with the supporting bars of one-sixteenth of an inch thickness and of one-quarter inch width, it has been found that the grille becomes practically invisible at a distance of approximately ten feet. At less distances the only'visible parts of the grille are the narrow vertical supporting bars 45.

A further important advantage of this construction is the fact that the grille practically eliminates vision into the stack head. With the old type construction in which the bars define relatively large openings, it was possible to readily see through the grille into the stack or concealed heat chamber back of the grille. With the relatively thin strips spaced and supported in the manner described in this application, the openings through the grille are in the form of narrow slots which are extremely difficult; to look through, and because of the depth of the grille formed by the width of the fins, it is impossible to see anything behind the grille when the vision is directed toward the grille at a very slight angle.

A further and exceedingly important advantage of the subject construction consists in the reduc-- tion of air resistanceeifected by forming the grille in the manner described. Any resistance to the 'fiow of air tends not only to throw the whole air. heating or conditioning system out of of the entire installation. If the system utilizes air blowers or the like to effect a circulation of the air,'increased pressure must be provided to balance, but tends also to decrease the efficiency overcome the resistance to which the air flow is subjected. If the grille is utilized with a heating system of the concealed radiation type or gravity warm air installation, increased head pressure has to be produced which means an increase in the B. t. u.s necessary. It is therefore apparent that a grille which reduces the air resistance to a minimum is particularly desirable.

A grille constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention, when compared with a standard perforated metal square mesh grille with thirteen-sixteenths inch square holes and three-sixteenths inch spacing bars, shows the following comparison as to air resistance. The above mentioned type of standard grille was chosen because of its past popularity, while a grille having openings and bars of the size men- Y tioned was selected as compared to a grille havtiveness of 77 percent of the standard square mesh grille. Compared to the aperture of the frame, the added resistance to the air flow imposed by the fin and bar type grille at 400 ft.

velocity was only .0041 inches water gauge, or percent above that of the aperture alone, while with a grille of the standard square mesh type, there was an additional air resistance of 71 percent over the aperture of the frame. Since the horse power required to force the air through the grille is directly proportional to the resistance, it is obvious that a considerable saving in 'horse power is effected, it having been found that it requires 36 percent more horse power to force air through an old type grille than to force air through a grille constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention.

As brought out before, a further advantage of this construction consists in the elimination of air noises, such as air whistle, and the elimination of all projections on the grille frame so that an effective seal is obtained between the stack and this frame.

The invention possesses a further important advantage in that with the agitators or deflectors the air is caused to leave the grille in a defused or blanket-like form rather than in beams of pencil sharpness. Where air flows through the standard square mesh grille openings, it strikes against the wide faces of the grille bars which create a tremendous air resistance and a considerable turbulence, Due to the turbulence which is created by ,the air attempting to flow around the grille bars, the air which flows through the grille openings is compressed into beams of pencil sharpness, and the air is directed grille provide for a discharge of the air into the" room in a blanket-like form.

It will benoted that the flexible actuating member which hangs downwardly adjacent the wall in any position of adjustment of the damper eliminates the necessity of providing a rigid actuating member which might project into the room and which might, because of its projection,

become damaged or tear the clothing of persons coming into contact with the same. The resilient means associated with the end of the flexible control member which is secured to the damper provides for a complete closing of the damper, thus facilitating the elimination of an opening between the edge of the damper and the flange 24.

It has been found further that the close spacing of the fins of the grille, together with their depth, provides for a uniform flow of air through the grille opening without the necessity of utilizing air deflector blades such as have heretofore been utilized with the grilles of standard construction. Still further, the close spacing of the flns makes the.openings through the grille so small that all foreign objects are prevented from passing through the grille and into the stack ,or heat chamber in back of the same.

From the above it will be apparent that the invention provides an improved register and grille construction which efficiently accomplishes the results desired and eliminates the numerous objections and disadvantages of the grilles heretofore used. While the invention has been described in detail, it is to be clearly understood that the description is for the purposes of illustration only and is not definitive of the limits of the inventive idea. .The right is reserved to make such changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts as will fall within the purview of the attached claims.

What I claim as my inven on is:

1. The combination with a roo'ni wall having an opening therein for the discharge of air into the room, of a. casing mounted in said opening, and a grille in said casing comprising a plurality of horizontally arranged vertically sp'aced fins, each of said fins being provided with a plurality of openings spaced longitudinally thereof, each opening being surrounded by an upstanding flange and the openings in each fin being in ver-- tical alignment with the openings in the next adjacent fin, and a plurality of vertically arranged laterally spaced flat bars mounted in said openings and embraced by said flanges, said bars and fins being arranged with their narrow edge facing the front of the casing.

2. The combination with a room wall having an opening therein for the discharge of air into the room, of a casing mounted in said opening and having an open front, and a grille positioned in said casing-for substantially closing the open front thereof, said grille comprising -a plurality of horizontally arranged fins and a plurality of vertically arranged bars fixed to said fins, said fins and bars defining a,plurality. of relatively,

small openings and saidfins being provided in their front edges with depressions to create defused currents in the air flowing through the ope in s.

3. The combination with a room wall having an opening therein for the discharge of air into the room, of 'a casing having an open front mounted in said opening, and a grille positioned in said casing for substantially closing the front thereof, said grille comprising a plurality of vertically spaced horizontally arranged thin strips, and a plurality of vertically arranged laterally spaced flat bars secured to said" strips,

said strips and bars being arranged with their narrow edges facing the front of the casingand said strips being provided on their front, and rear edges with depressions for creating defused currents in the air passing through said casing and between said bars and fins.

4. In a device of the character described, a

casing adapted to be positioned in an opening in a wall, said casing being provided with an inwardly extending flange adjacent its outer end, a grille in said casing engaging the rear face of said flange, and a second casing within said' first mentioned casing having an inwardly directed flange resiliently engaging the rear face of said grille to urge the same into engagement with the flange of the first mentioned casing.

5. In a device of the character described, an outer casing adapted to be positioned in an opening in a wall, said casing being provided with an outwardly extending flange adapted to engage the outer surface of the wall adjacent the opening therein and being provided with an inwardly extending flange adjacent its outer end, a grille within said casing for substantially closing the front thereof, said grille engaging the inner face of the inwardly directed flange on said casing, and a second casing fixed within said first mentioned casing, said second casing being provided with an inwardly extending flange arranged to engage the rear face of said grille and to yieldably urge the same into engagement with the rear face of the inwardly directed flange formed .on the outer casing.

6. In a. device of the character described, a casing, a damper having an opening, a hinge for hingedly mounting said damper within said casing; a spring for normally movingsaid damper in one direction about its point of hinged mounting, a flexible actuating member for moving said damper in the other direction about its'point of hinged mounting, said actuating member being extended through said opening formed in said damper, and means for anchoring said actuating member to said damper comprising a bushingmounted in the opening in said damper, a spring seating in a recess formed in said bushing, and an abutment on said actuating member engaging said spring.

7. In a device of the character described, a casing, a damper having an opening and being hingedly mounted within said casing, a spring normally urging said damper to open position a flexible member passing through said opening in said damper for moving said damper to closed position,

means including a spring surrounding said flex ible member for anchoring one end thereof to the damper, and a bushing in the opening in said damper providing a seat for one end of said spring.

8. In a device of the character described, an outer casing having a flange, a grille positioned within said outer casing, an inner casing fixed within said outer casing and having a. portion engaging said grille. for yieldably' urging the same an opening through which said flexible member loosely extends and being provided with a slot with which said flexible member may be engaged, the enlargements of said flexible member being arranged to prevent longitudinal movement of the flexible member through the slot.

9. The combination with a room wall having an opening therein for the discharge of air into the room, and a stack positioned in said opening and arranged to discharge air through the same, of a casing mounted in said opening and having an inwardly extending plane surfaced portion snugly engaging the said stack adjacent the discharge end thereof, a grille positioned in said casing providing relatively small openings through which the air discharged from said stack may flow, a second casing mounted in the first. casing and supporting the grille therein, and a damper member hingedly mounted in the second casing adapted to be adjusted toward or from closed position relative to the grille.

10. The combination with a room wall having an opening therein, and a stack arranged in said opening for discharge through the same into a room, of an outer casing having a portion engaging the wall 'adjacent the opening therein and having a second portion engaging the stack adjacent the discharge end thereof, a second casing positioned within the outer casing and having an inwardly extending resilient flange, and a damper pivotally mounted in said second casing and so arranged withrespect thereto that the edge of said damper snugly engages the inwardly extending flange on said second casing when the for diifusing-the air'discharged through the grille,

the bent portions of each strip being spaced from adjacent strips.

12. A grille for an opening through which air is discharged comprising a plurality offlat thin strips of metal supported side by side in parallel spaced relation one to the other and. parallel to the direction of flow of air therebetween, the

tween adjacent strips is deflected from its direc tion of flow'in passing between the tions of the strips.-

13. A grille for an opening through which air is discharged comprising a plurality of flat thin strips of material supported side by side in spaced body por having integral spaced portions thereof 'at the discharge edge bent laterally of the plane occupied by the body of the strips and toward an adjacent strip to provide a. diffusing means for the'air stream passing between the strips.

JOHN A. GERMONPREZ.

relation one to the other, and parallel to the direction of flow of air'therebetween, the strips 

